“Not for fame or reward, not lured by ambition or goaded by necessity, but in simple obedience to duty.” --Inscription at Arlington Cemetary

"Each of these heroes stands in the unbroken line of patriots who have dared to die that freedom might live and grow and increase in its blessings." -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Monday, July 20, 2009

Army Spc. Andrew J. Roughton

Remember Our Heroes

Army Spc. Andrew J. Roughton, 21, of Houston

Spc. Roughton was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 25th Field Artillery (Strike), 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died July 20, 2009 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle followed by an attack from enemy forces using small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. Also killed were Spc. Anthony M. Lightfoot, Sgt. Gregory Owens Jr. and Pfc. Dennis J. Pratt.

Put athletic dreams on hold to serve his countryThe Associated Press

Andrew J. Roughton was known by his friends as “Tuna,” and for good reason.

“Whenever he went to a friend’s house, he would leave an unopened can of tuna fish behind, sometimes in a closet, sometimes in a bathroom,” said his father, Mark Roughton. “I have no idea why, it was just sort of his signature.”

Roughton, 21, of Houston, died July 20 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle. He was assigned to Fort Drum, N.Y.

He was an athlete at Spring Woods High School and graduated in 2006 with dreams of proving that a small offensive guard could make it on the college gridiron. But he put that dream aside, left a scholarship at Trinity Valley Community College and joined the Army to support his young wife, Heather, when she became pregnant. Despite a miscarriage, he didn’t second-guess the decision, his father said.

Friends say Roughton always tried to be positive and keep people smiling.

“If you knew Andrew, he was a cutup,” his father said. “If you didn’t know Andrew, he’d make you his friend.”